Celess'Dur
Governance The Potentate The post of Potentate of Celess'Dur is the highest ranking official of Celess'Dur, as well as leader of the Magisterium of Celess'Dur. In government, this fulfills the role of the executive branch. The Potentate holds a seat on the Council of the Magisterium, but is also individually allowed to veto any laws created by either the Council or the College of the Magisterium. The Potentate cannot create new laws, but can make a motion to pass a new law in the Council of the Magisterium. The Council of the Magisterium The Council of the Magisterium is an office composed of 6 of the highest ranking members of the Magisterium. The four archons of the Magisterium, the Warmage, and the Potentate have seats of equal gravity on the Council. The council must pass every law that is passed by the two councils. The council may veto any law that is made, and can also create its own laws. Beyond these powers, the Council of the Magisterium is also the supreme judiciary of Celess'Dur. It holds the power to create new courts, appoint judges, and hold its own trials. The Warmage who sits on the Council, is the leader of Celess'Dur's armed forces. The College of the Magisterium The College of the Magisterium is the electorate body representing the Magisterium of Celess'Dur. Its membership is comprised of Epistolaries, Esoterites and numerous Magisters. The 6 Councillors also have seats of equal weight in the College of the Magisterium. The College may create its own laws, though these must be passed by the Council of the Magisterium. Laws passed by the College of the Electorate must also go through the College of the Magisterium, where the College must also vote for the new law to pass. The College of the Electorate Official Offices Chair The Chair is elected by the College of the Electorate to serve a term of 1 year, at the annual meeting to mark a beginning to every new year. The Chair guides processions, and makes sure proper parliamentary procedure is observed. Speaker of the House The Speaker of the House is elected by the College of the Electorate to serve a term of 3 years, at the annual meeting to mark a beginning to every new year. The Speaker of the House opens, and closes every session of the College, as well as expressing the decisions made by the College to other bodies within Celess’Dur. Representative of the Magisterium The representative of the Magisterium is elected by the College of the Magisterium to serve a term of 1 year, at the annual meeting to mark a beginning to every new year. The Representative of the Magisterium has full speaking rights in the College of the Electorate, though they cannot vote. They represent the opinions and decisions of the College of the Magisterium. Representative of the Council The Representative of the Council is appointed by the Council of the Magisterium for an indefinite term, decided and ended by the Council at its own discretion. The Representative of the Council expresses the decisions of the Council of the Magisterium. The Representative of the Council has full speaking rights, but cannot vote. Representative of the Potentate The Representative of the Potentate is appointed by the Potentate for an indefinite term, decided and ended by the Potentate at his own discretions. The Representative of the Potentate expresses the decisions, and the will, of the Potentate of Celess’Dur. The Representative of the Potentate has full speaking rights, but cannot vote. Composition Noble Houses Maximum of 1 seat per House Maximum of 50 seats for noble houses Orders Militant Maximum of 1 seat per order, excluding the City and Civil Guard, who both hold 3 seats Maximum of 30 seats for orders militant, including the City and Civil Guard Public Guilds Maximum of 1 seat per crafts guilds, 2 seats per trade guild Maximum of 60 seats for Guilds Religious Offices Maximum of 1 seat per religious representative, Maximum of 10 seats for Religious Offices Process Calling Sessions Sessions of the college of the Electorate are held once every month, for a total of 8 times per year. Special sessions of the College of the Electorate may also be called by the Potentate, or any of the Archons, for any reason at their own discretion. During Sessions Any session will be opened by the Speaker of the House. The College will then be addressed either by the Chair, in the case of a normal session, who will move proceedings in the standard way. Every topic that has been placed on the agenda will be spoken on in turn, until a resolution on it has been passed. In the case of a special session, the College will first be addressed by the member of the Magisterium who called on the special session. Every session will then be closed by the Speaker of the House. Military Capacity Standing Forces The City Guard The City Guard is an armed force of approximately 7000 men in strength. The City Guard are those guardsmen designated by the Warmage to defend and maintain the laws in the City of Celess'Dur. They have no jurisdiction outside of the city, where they must defer authority to the Civil Guard and the Warmage. The Captain of the City Guard is the head of this body, and he answers directly to the Warmage of Celess'Dur. The Civil Guard The Civil Guard is an armed force of approximately 5000 men in strength. The Civil Guard defend and maintain the laws in the countryside and towns surrounding the city of Celess'Dur. They have no official authority within the city, where they must defer authority to the City Guard and the Warmage. The Captain of the Civil Guard is the head of this organisation, and he answers directly to the Warmage of Celess'Dur. The Spellsword The Spellsword is the order of battlemages trained in Celess'Dur, and commanded by the Magum. The Spellsword stands with a total strength of approximately 500 trained members. The Magum answers directly to the Warmage of Celess'Dur. Reserves Orders Militant The Orders militant of Celess'Dur are the private armed forces of noble houses, private mercenary groups, and guilds. They offer oath to the Magisterium of Celess'Dur, that in the case of war, they will answer a call to arms and be raised in the defense of Celess'Dur. The total strength of all combined orders militant is approximately 10,000 men. There is no direct leader of the Orders Militant, and every independent head will answer to the Warmage. Magisterium Forces The Magisterium has approximately 8,000 combat-ready mages. In a war situation, these 8,000 mages would be able to be raised to fight in a conflict for Celess'Dur. These mages all technically answer to the heirarchy of the Magisterium, but in a war situation, would answer to the Warmage. Society Celess'Dur, as a whole, believes wholly in principles of liberalism. As such, almost anything and anyone is accepted within the walls of the city, so long as they cause no harm to others. All races are welcome in the city, to an extent. There are numerous Asmesatri, Tser'qui, humans, and Ezefell are only truly accepted here. There are even a handful of orcs, Anikalians, and Mur'kai. Anyone born to any level is given a chance to thrive, though those magically gifted stand on a level above any others, as the city is ruled by those with talents in arcana. The city is governed in such a way that very few remain at the lower rungs of society within the city without a use. Most of the less intelligent are put on collective farms outside the city, to serve comfortably as peasants. As far as the aristocracy goes, the standard rule of 'do what you want, out of sight' goes. Appearance is everything in Celess'Dur. So long as individuals and the city remain in good appearance, most everything private is acceptable. Due to such, liberal ideas are very much accepted in the city. Homosexuality is largely acceptable in the city, though many find it in distaste. There is no legal problem with it, though many choose to keep it quiet to maintain face. Prejudice against others for sexuality is usually met more harshly than the sexuality itself. Consorts are very common in the city, as are concubines and escorts. There are no legal issues with such, but appearance still factors in. Low-end prostitution is only legally allowed in the lower areas of the city. The Magisterium The Order of the Magisterium of Celess'Dur, commonly known as the Magisterium, is the ruling body of Celess'Dur. Beyond that, it is the single largest college of, and order of mages in all of Lesrilon. The studies conducted within the Magisterium guide all of Lesrilon in the fields of magic. The Magisterium is thusly highly regarded throughout Lesrilon as the pinnacle of all higher learning, and the first place any mage would visit to train in the arts of arcana. The Magisterium is presided over by the Potentate, the master of all of Celess'Dur. Below him stands the Warmage, master of the militant arm of the Magisterium, and thusly also commander of the military of Celess'dur. After this, the five Archons sit on the Council of the Magisterium, the executive branch of Celess'Dur. Below that, every master of any school of magic within the Magisterium, stands as an Esoterite. The College of the Magisterium, which represents the Magisterium in the legislative branch, is composed of all Esoterites, though the Potentate, Warmage, and the Archons all hold seats there as well. Economy Celess'Dur lacks a vast web of trade such as that of the Justerthian Empire, but it is far from closed off as Urikhia. Celess'Dur relies largely on productions made within its own borders, though imports of raw materials for further production are very common from the Justerthian Empire, and the Maimah'Ladna Hedgemony. Celess'Dur itself relies almost entirely on agriculture, and the city is surrounded by field upon field of irrigated collective farms. There is no subsistence farming in Celess'Dur, and all farms are the property of noteworthy houses, which control them on massive plots of land. This allows for an amount of food that is more than enough for Celess'Dur, and a great excess of grain, maize and other products to be exported. Celess'Dur lacks raw materials such as iron, silver, or copper, and so metals and stone for construction are largely imported. However, there are many crafters guilds within Celess'Dur, and through the use of arcana, the shaping of structures in Celess'Dur is made much easier. Celess'Dur often exports enchanted clothes, and weapons. They export many alchemical elixirs, and a great deal of art comes from the city. Celess'Dur is largely a service based economy, beyond the agricultural side of it. Large quantities of materials are bought, and refined to a standard to then be sold at a higher price. History Administration Administration is intensely important in the beaurocracy of Celess'Dur. It is complex, and goes through a myriad of different organisations to best control how the society functions. The Magocracy of Celess'Dur is divided into 4 major administrative zones. These are: The Capital Zone The Juntazin Zone The Mercorin Zone The Pagarian Zone